Revolutionizing Plant Transformation with Robotics and AI

Imagine a future where plant transformation is faster, more efficient, and reliable, thanks to the power of robotics and artificial intelligence.

TL;DR
• Scientists at ORNL develop SMART Plant 1.0, a robotic system that accelerates plant transformation.
• The system uses computer vision to identify and collect plant tissue for transformation.
• SMART Plant 1.0 has the potential to increase plant transformation efficiency by a hundredfold.

Summary
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a robotics and computer vision system, called SMART Plant 1.0, to accelerate plant transformation and improve the efficiency of developing stress-tolerant plants. This system robotically samples and treats plant tissue, expediting the plant transformation process.

Key insights from the development of SMART Plant 1.0 include:
• Automation of plant transformation processes, which can increase efficiency by a hundredfold.
• Integration of robotics and advanced computer vision-guided tissue identification to collect massive amounts of data for AI-driven analysis.
• Potential to validate gene-to-trait linkages faster and optimize plant transformation rates.
• Development of a next-generation system, SMART Plant 2.0, which aims to enable autonomous experiments and AI-quality data generation.

The SMART Plant projects support the growth of the bioeconomy by accelerating scientific discoveries for plants that can tolerate challenging conditions and are suited for biofuels, chemicals, materials, and critical minerals recovery. The system also aligns with ORNL's Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory, where plants are analyzed using advanced imaging modalities.

The ORNL team is working on integrating the SMART Plant projects into a comprehensive network of plant biotechnology capabilities across DOE's national laboratories, aiming to meet the growing global demand for faster genetic crop improvements.

As we continue to push the boundaries of plant transformation, we must consider the potential impact on the environment and society.